Veterans, teacher inducted into Mexican American Hall of Fame

STOCKTON - Two military veterans and a veteran of the classroom will be the three "unsung heroes" to be inducted Saturday into the Mexican American Hall of Fame in Stockton.

Jennie Rodriguez

STOCKTON - Two military veterans and a veteran of the classroom will be the three "unsung heroes" to be inducted Saturday into the Mexican American Hall of Fame in Stockton.

"There are certain individuals involved in the community that get plenty of notoriety," said Richard Rios, a member of the committee that selected inductees Julian Sepulveda Jr. of Stockton, Maria Ramirez-McGuire of Tracy and Oscar Chapa of Stockton. "But there are also a lot of unsung heroes, whose names don't appear in the newspaper or aren't involved in politics.

"The Mexican Hall of Fame is reaching out to those unsung heroes that really need to be recognized that many of us don't know much about."

Rios nominated Sepulveda for the community service category.

Sepulveda, a Marine veteran, is past president of Stockton's Cursillo Movement, a social activist group of Catholic congregates started in the early 1960s.

Sepulveda has volunteered in a youth prison ministry, taught catechism and confirmation classes, and served as a lector at St. Gertrude's and Presentation Catholic churches.

"I feel that I'm emulating my father, because he did so much for the community," Sepulveda said.

"I'm most proud of is being a role model for youth in finishing education," he said. Owner of Sepulveda's Truck Painting & Body Shop in Stockton, Sepulveda went back to college at 55 to finish his vocational training.

In 1983, Sepulveda joined the Private Industry Council board of directors, and he later joined San Joaquin County Workforce Investment Board. Recently, he became a volunteer for the county's mediation board, an assistance program for settling disputes.

Maria Ramirez-McGuire will be inducted in the education category.

Ramirez-McGuire retired last year from Tracy High School after 30 years as an educator. She taught reading, basic math, bilingual and regular U.S. history, American government, economics and Spanish.

"I fell in love with education and with the love of learning. That's what I'm going to miss," Ramirez-McGuire said.

While at Tracy High, her student involvement did not stop at teaching. Ramirez-McGuire advocated for teachers and for lowering class sizes. She counseled at-risk students for two years and served as the adviser to the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan Club, or MEChA, for 25 years, organizing field trips to university campuses. MEChA is a Latino student body organization that promotes higher education and Latino culture preservation.

"I think I feel most proud of being MEChA adviser," Ramirez-McGuire said.

"That was where I did the most for my students, especially students who were limited in going to college."

Also, she developed the first girls soccer team at Tracy High School and coached girls basketball, volleyball and softball.

Ramirez-McGuire received the John Williams and Character Counts awards in 2005, presented by the California Teacher Association for her involvement with students and parents.

Oscar Chapa will enter the hall as humanitarian of the year.

Chapa, an Army veteran, has operated Oscar's Catering since 1940. Chapa helped provide lunches for thousands of Su Salud health fair volunteers in the late 1990s. And, through St. Mary's Dining Hall, he volunteered to drive truckloads of donated food and clothes to Mexico.

As a member of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Air Posse, Chapa flew his personal airplane when needed by the Sheriff's Office.

Sepulveda, Ramirez-McGuire and Chapa will bring the total number of hall of famers to 111 since its inception in 1990. Last year's inductees included Judy Auwinger, Dora L. Contreras, Carol J. Ornelas, Jessie Ornelas and Mike Torres.

The hall of fame was started by Veto Ramirez in 1990 to recognize people making significant contributions for the advancement of Latinos, have become role models for youth, encouraged early involvement in community affairs or preserved Hispanic cultures. Ramirez is a retired counselor from Edison High School, where he worked for 36 years. He also started the Edison Hall of Fame and the Stockton Mexican Sports Hall of Fame. Ramirez is a University of the Pacific graduate, and he played professional baseball with the Stockton Ports and the Spokane Indians.